Established in 2009 Under the Authority of North Carolina General Statute 15A-404

A YouTube video showed crowds of people scrambling to get to safety after two people were shot inside of an uptown hotel early Sunday morning.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said officers were dispatched to the Sheraton Hotel on South McDowell Street around 2 a.m. after receiving a call about shots being fired. Officers found two victims suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot wounds when they arrived.

One victim was shot in the leg and transported by MEDIC to CMC-Main. The second victim was also shot in the leg, but was treated at the scene.

Detectives believe several people got in a fight in the main ballroom of the Sheraton. They said the fight escalated when someone fired a handgun and bullets hit the two victims.

MEDIC said five other patients were also taken to CMC-Main with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said those victims were injured when everyone was rushing out of the hotel after the shooting.

Channel 9 spoke with several witnesses.

“It was very crowded so the next thing you know a bunch of gunshots were going off,” said Devin Ross, an attendee from Washington, D.C.

There are conflicting reports about hotel security. Some attendees said bags were not searched, others say they were. One attendee called it an “unfortunate incident.”

Channel 9 reached out to the Sheraton Hotel for comment, but calls have not been returned from the hotel.

CMPD detectives are collecting physical evidence and looking for witnesses.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Crime Stoppers line at 704-334-1600.